INDIANAPOLIS — It would have been easy for T.J. McConnell to reflect and talk about himself. With the Indiana Pacers performing end-of-season exit interviews, the veteran guard went to the podium for the final time after a career year.
McConnell was sensational in 2023-24. Per game, his stats all reached new highs. 10.2 points per game was the most the Pittsburgh native has ever produced, and his assist per game number of 5.5 was his second-best ever. His efficiency remained excellent.
Per minute, it was easily McConnell's best season ever. His points and assists numbers were at career-best levels, and he paired that with close to his top production on the boards and with steals. The nine-year pro did it all.
That all happened in a campaign that started with McConnell not playing at all. He did not hit the hardwood in six of the Pacers first 17 games, and three of his appearances in that stretch were for under 10 minutes. Yet by the trade deadline, McConnell was a vital part of the rotation, and he remained a key contributor into the playoffs.
"What he does competitively and intangibly is unreplaceable," Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle said of McConnell in February.
All of those reasons are why McConnell could have easily talked about himself during his exit interview. He could have shared how important this season was to him and why it meant so much to be able to prove himself once again. But he didn't.
This season meant everything to McConnell, and he could have shared as much. Instead, as he always does, he made it about the team. Beyond his skill, that's what makes him so valuable to the Pacers.
"It was fun. It was a great ride. I know I don't just speak for myself, but kind of getting this franchise back into the playoffs and making a run to the Eastern Conference Finals when not a single person had us going there, it was really fun," McConnell said of the campaign. "Just to play alongside the group in games like that, it was a great feeling."
This was the most team success McConnell has achieved in one season. With Philadelphia, he was a part of a group that won a round in the postseason. But this was his first trip to the Eastern Conference Finals. There is no doubt truth to the fact that McConnell loved the ride to the top with his teammates.
Yet the fact that the veteran guard had his best-ever individual season and said little about it was telling. Young players have gushed about his leadership for years, and Indiana's front office has made it clear how much they would hate to lose McConnell. He's a terrific player, and in that moment he revealed why everybody says he's an even better person.
His stats were impressive. Beyond the aforementioned career numbers, McConnell averaged 11.8 points and 5.1 assists per game in the playoffs. He finished 20th in the NBA in drives per game despite playing under 20 minutes on average — every player ahead of him on the list was well over 30. He paired that with 73rd percentile isolation play. McConnell was a reserve, but he had starter-level responsibilities when it came to attacking the rim and scoring.
He handled them well and evolved as a player. After Bennedict Mathurin suffered a shoulder injury in March, McConnell had to take on a bigger load. He took it in stride, averaging 13.9 points and 5.4 assists per game from that point on while shooting 56.3% from the field. It kept Indiana's bench afloat.
For all of those reasons, McConnell could easily have shared feelings about his individual play during his best season ever. He earned it. But he didn't. He opted to make it about the team. Even when specifically asked what helped him peak at 32-years old, he talked about the rest of the roster.
"I don't know, I try not to focus on stuff like that," McConnell said of having a career year at his age. "Just the team success, really just getting back to the playoffs. That was the goal for us. Just tried to contribute in any way I could."
All of these reasons are why McConnell is valued so much by the Pacers. It's also why Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James said that McConnell was one of his favorite players in the league during the regular season — he is a terrific player and teammate. Indiana would have been in trouble without him this season.
Last year, there were questions about what McConnell's role would be, if it existed at all, entering the 2023-24 campaign. This year, those conversations will be nonexistent. After a career-best season filled with high-quality moments behind the scenes, McConnell earned a major role once again next year. He will hope it leads to more team success.
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